An Israeli airstrike killed a senior Palestinian aid official who had organised public World Cup screenings across the Gaza Strip, along with two children and a taxi driver, as they travelled to a match viewing on Tuesday evening. Mohammad al-Waheidi, the public relations director of the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza, was struck in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City shortly before the Egypt-Argentina knockout game. His body was later wrapped in Palestinian and Egyptian flags at a funeral attended by hundreds, while the screening he had planned went ahead, with many Gazans gathering to support the Egyptian side.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, the strike targeted a Hamas militant travelling in the vehicle, and the military is aware of claims that uninvolved civilians were harmed. The incident is under review, an IDF spokesperson said, adding that the military regrets any harm to non-combatants. The Israeli statement did not name the alleged militant. The director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohamed Abu Selmiya, identified the other victims as driver Ahmed Daghmush, 33, and two brothers, Hamza al-Deri, 10, and Fari, 8. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said no militant group had claimed any of the dead as a member. Egyptian security sources told Reuters that a senior Egyptian official raised al-Waheidi’s killing with Israel, expressing opposition to the continued policy of targeted killings and any obstruction of the committee’s humanitarian work.

The strike interrupted a rare communal initiative that had drawn thousands of displaced Palestinians to giant screens erected amid the rubble. The Egyptian Relief Committee, established by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as the relief arm of the Egyptian government in Gaza, had organised the viewings, which al-Waheidi personally spearheaded. The screenings carried particular resonance because Egypt’s coach, Hossam Hassan, has repeatedly used his platform to voice support for the Palestinian cause, dedicating a victory to both nations and waving a Palestinian flag on the pitch. Gaza health officials report that since a ceasefire took effect in October, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, underscoring the fragility of the truce.

Indirect talks on implementing the second phase of the ceasefire deal, which would include Hamas’s disarmament and Israeli army withdrawals, remain deadlocked. A Hamas delegation led by chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on Thursday for further discussions. Viewed from Cairo, the killing of an Egyptian-linked aid official complicates Egypt’s role as a key mediator, alongside Qatar, Turkey and the United States. The Israeli military says it is reviewing the strike, while the aid committee has not yet indicated whether the World Cup screenings will continue.